Sealed connectors are known for use in environments such as automobiles for environmentally sealing the electrical connections to prevent damage from moisture and other contaminants. One example of a sealed electrical connector is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,531 issued Feb. 5, 1985 to Baker.
Disadvantages of known sealed connectors include complexity and the resulting difficulty and time required for assembly.
It is desirable to provide a sealed connector permitting the removal of a terminal for repair or replacement. However, the construction of many prior art connectors makes it very difficult if not impossible to replace terminals without destroying the connector or the integrity of the seal. For this reason it is desirable to avoid the use of a terminal locking tang for retaining the terminal in the connector housing. However it is important to retain and securely position terminals within the connector so that a reliable electrical connection is maintained, for example, if the external terminated conductor is moved or pulled.
Also, it is desirable to provide a unitary subassembly for receiving terminals each with a terminated conductor. Such a unitary sealed connector subassembly should be adapted for automated assembly. Many prior art sealed connectors are provided as multiple parts for assembly by the user. Hence, possible misassembly and/or contamination with foreign material or dirt prior to assembly is a problem. This problem could be solved by a unitary subassembly.